Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers (Video)

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I love this Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers; if you’ve enjoyed Chicken Piccata in a restaurant I hope you try making my low-carb and gluten-free version at home! 

PIN Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers to try it later!

For this week’s Friday Favorites Pick, I’m reminding you about this delicious Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers, and I think Chicken Piccata is one of those classic dishes that are relatively easy to master, quick to prepare, and always taste great. This unique version of Chicken Piccata caught my eye years ago in Fine Cooking Annual (affiliate link) because the chicken wasn’t dredged in flour, and the combination of capers and lemon is one of my favorites.

But what really sold me on trying this Chicken recipe was the fried capers. Chinese cooking involves seasoning the oil where garlic and ginger are fried briefly in hot oil before you add other ingredients. Here I think frying the capers in olive oil before you brown the chicken takes Chicken Piccata to a whole new level.

I love capers, so I was tempted to use a lot more capers than the recipe called for! I restrained myself, but if you love capers like I do, go ahead and use a bit more.

And I think this flourless Chicken Picatta is special enough to make for dinner guests, and I bet no one will guess it’s a low-carb dish! This might even be a hit with people who haven’t tried capers, and it will be a wow for capers fans, I promise! 

What are Capers?

Capers are not berries, but the unopened green flower buds of the Capparis spinosa. They have an astringent sharp flavor, and are used a lot in Mediterranean cooking. Capers must be picked by hand, which makes them expensive. They’re sold pickled or salted, and both types are often rinsed. Read more about how to use capers at The Perfect Pantry, where Lydia does such a great job of helping us learn about the ingredients we’re using.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• nonpareil capers
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to season chicken
• Poultry Seasoning (affiliate link)
• finely minced fresh garlic
• homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth (affiliate link)
• fresh lemon juice (see notes)
• sweetener of your choice (optional; if you like the sour taste of lemon you probably don’t need sweetener)
• butter, cut up into several pieces
• chopped fresh parsley

How to Make Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers:

(Scroll down for complete printable recipe, including nutritional information.)

1. Trim chicken breasts and cut in half to make two same-size pieces; then pound with a meat mallet (affiliate link) to make 1/2 inch thick cutlets.
2. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning.
3. Chop the parsley and garlic, and rinse the capers and pat dry.
4. Heat the olive oil in frying pan, add capers and cook until they open slightly and crisp a bit, about 90 seconds.
5. Transfer capers to a paper towel and add chicken to the pan.
6. Cook chicken over medium-high heat until it’s nicely browned on both sides and cooked through, then transfer to a plate. (You can cover them to keep warm if you prefer.)
7. While chicken cooks get the canned chicken broth (affiliate link), butter, and lemon juice measured and ready to go.
8. Add garlic to the pan and cook about 30 seconds.
9. Then add the stock and scrape to remove all the browned bits, cooking a few minutes until the stock is slightly reduced.
10. Stir in the lemon juice (with sweetener if desired), then turn off the heat and add the butter, stirring until it’s melted into the sauce.
11. Add half the capers and all the parsley to the sauce.
12. Pour sauce over the chicken, then garnish with the rest of the capers and parsley and serve hot, with extra lemon to squeeze on at the table please!

Make it a Meal:

This would be great with Roasted Asparagus with Garlic and The Best Pureed Cauliflower with Garlic, Parmesan, and Goat Cheese for a low-carb meal.

What Else Tastes Great with Capers:

Deviled Eggs with Green Olives, Capers, and Dijon ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Pan-Seared Salmon with Capers and Lemon ~ Boulder Locavore
Grilled Chicken with Lemon, Capers, and Oregano ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Chicken in Caper Cream Sauce ~ Taste and Tell
Sauteed Chicken Cutlets with Sage and Capers ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Grilled Rosemary Swordfish with Capers ~ Aggie’s Kitchen

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Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers

Yield 6 servings

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

I love this low-carb version of Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers; if you like capers and chicken you're going to love this recipe!

Ingredients

• 3 very large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 T nonpareil capers (see notes)
• 2 T olive oil
• salt and pepper to season chicken
• 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 2 tsp. finely minced fresh garlic
• 1/2 cup homemade chicken stock (see notes)
• 2 T fresh lemon juice (see notes)
• 1/2 tsp. sweetener of your choice (optional; if you like the sour taste of lemon you probably don’t need sweetener)
• 2 T butter, cut up into several pieces
• 1 T chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Trim all visible fat and undesirable membranes from chicken breasts. Cut each one in half to make two pieces about the same size.
2. One at a time, put pieces inside a heavy Ziploc bag and pound chicken with a meat mallet (affiliate link) or something heavy to make it an even 1/2 inch thick.
3. Season chicken with a small amount of salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning.
4. Chop parsley and set aside. Rinse the capers and pat dry with paper towels.
5. In a 12-inch nonstick frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. I used my Green Pan (affiliate link), which worked well for this recipe.
6. When oil is hot, add capers and fry until they open slightly and crisp a little, took 60-90 seconds for me. Remove pan from heat and use a spoon to transfer capers to paper towel, letting the oil drip back into pan.
7. Get oil hot again, then saute chicken on top side until nicely browned, about 3-4 minutes. Turn over and cook on other side until chicken is done, probably only 1-2 minutes on the second side, but be sure chicken is cooked through.
8. Arrange chicken on serving dish with the most browned side facing up. (You can cover them to keep warm if you want, but I didn’t and they were fine.)
9. While chicken browns, measure out chicken stock, garlic, butter, and lemon juice (plus sweetener if using) so they’re ready.
10. Add garlic to hot pan and cook 15-30 seconds. Add chicken stock, and scrape pan to dissolve browned bits.
11. Cook until stock is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
12. Stir in lemon juice (and sweetener if using), then turn off heat and add butter, stirring until butter is melted.
13. Add half of capers and parsley to sauce, then pour sauce over chicken, garnishing with remaining capers.

Notes

Feel free to use a little more capers if you love capers as much as I do. You can use canned chicken broth, but I would make sure it's low-sodium since capers are salty. I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe.

This recipe was slightly adapted from Fine Cooking Annual.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 215Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 231mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 23g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers which doesn’t have any flour is great for low-carb or low-glycemic diet plans. Butter isn’t recommended for the South Beach Diet,  but I think the small amount of butter here is important for flavor. I would eat this for any phase of the South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Skillet Meals to find more recipes like this oneUse the Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for This Recipe:
Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers was first posted March 9, 2007; last updated February 21, 2020. And if you check the comments you’ll see many people have enjoyed this through the years!

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